News

Baby joy for famous falcons

Two peregrine chicks have now hatched at the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Falls of Clyde Visitor Centre and Wildlife Reserve in New Lanark.    

Hatching on Friday 30 April and Saturday 1 May, the chicks arrived to the relief of wildlife enthusiasts who last year had to wait until 20 May to see the first eggs hatch from the resident peregrines, a pair which have now been breeding at Falls of Clyde for 14 years. The chicks' arrival marks a milestone in a 24 hour round-the-clock stakeout by Scottish Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers, made possible thanks to the People?s Postcode Lottery. It aims to protect the birds through their breeding season. 

Tom Hall, Scottish Wildlife Trust's Peregrine Protection Officer, appointed thanks to funding from People?s Postcode Lottery, said: "The chicks arrived right on time this year, which is a great relief because it means our resident breeding peregrines are still very healthy and fertile. With the first arriving at 3.40pm on Friday afternoon and the other hatching in the early hours of Saturday morning, this is good news for both chicks because they begin life close in age and will both hopefully be able to hold their own on the nest and share the food their parents bring in for them. We now have one egg left which is still being incubated on the nest, and we hope this will hatch any day now."

The Falls of Clyde Wildlife Reserve and Visitor Centre offers some of the best views of breeding peregrines in the UK. Thanks to a gorge-side hide and HD camera, close-up footage of the birds can be seen in their natural habitat. A new visitor centre attraction, known as the Peregrine Experience, also opened last month which aims to allow people to watch the peregrines in an atmospheric setting in the Visitor Centre too. The Scottish Wildlife Trust also runs an online nest camera and a wildlife blog, both of which can be followed at www.swt.org.uk.